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Tough week with some growth for the Ponoka Broncs

Both of Ponoka’s senior and bantam Broncs football teams had an interesting week
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Broncs’ Jared Bussiere prepares for a tackle Sept. 21 by a Stettler Wildcats player. The senior Broncs struggle with execution ended up costing the team a 47-0 loss. Photos by Jeffrey Heyden-Kaye

It was a tough week for the Broncs football teams with the senior and bantam teams unable to walk away with a win.

The seniors played football-town Stettler Wildcats at home Sept. 21 during a frigid and blustery fall day with rain and single digit temperatures.

The rain was so bad it rendered the scoreboard useless for much of the fourth quarter.

At first the Broncs appeared to be ready taking the receiving ball at the kick-off but a few early touchdowns by the Wildcats slowed any momentum the home team hoped to gain. Execution appeared to be the biggest issue for the Broncs who ended up with a 47-0 loss.

Despite the overwhelming loss the team saw some sunshine in their game with some brilliance in play design. “We had some guys just step up out of their shell,” offered co-coach Cody Baird.

Seeing those players rise up during the gruelling game is something he wanted to recognize. In the future, execution will be the focus.

One onside kick early in the first half proved that point with the Wildcats making the short kick and having no Broncs to prevent them catching it.

“We need to execute in practise this week. We had a really rough week in practice and I would say it showed today,” said Baird.

The senior Broncs next home game is this Thursday Sept. 28 versus Drayton Valley at 4:30 p.m.

Bantam Broncs

The bantam Broncs struggled against the Lindsey Thurber Raiders at home Sept. 23 but the score wasn’t indicative of the play.

Coach Todd Lewis said the Broncs were up 6-2 for most of the first half.

Injuries didn’t help the team offensively or defensively, said Lewis, but the team had some success.

At one point in the game the team managed to hold Lindsey Thurber at the goal line. The Broncs were down 10-6 with the Raiders right on the goal line. The Broncs shut them down but then took a penalty in the third down.

It still took some work with the Broncs holding the Raiders for two more downs before finally being able to punch the ball through.

“We cancelled their offence five times on the goal line. I’ve never seen that happen in any level of football. Absolutely incredible,” said Lewis.

Another reason for the higher points loss was due to a couple play gambles that didn’t pay off. Lewis said with the team down 18-6 and a few minutes left in the game he tried out a few different plays.

He was pleased with a strong effort from the players to continually try for the ball and a ‘tenacious defence’ that stalled the Raiders on several occasions.

His hope in the next few weeks is to see better blocking and deeper coverage on defence.

Lewis was proud of the team effort but praised Jordan Young for stepping up to be quarterback considering their first and second strong quarterbacks were injured. And he praised Kieran Poncelet who ended up playing the entire game.

The team’s next home game may change but is tentatively set for Oct. 7.

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Broncs’ Tyler Lagarde holds on tight as he sacks the Stettler Wildcats’ quarterback.
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Broncs’ Derek Lange grimaces as he sacks the Stettler Wildcats’ quarterback. Photos by Jeffrey Heyden-Kaye